power,in science and engineering, time rate of doing work or delivering energy, expressible as the amount of work done W, or energy transferred, divided by the time interval t—or W/t. A given amount of work can be done by a low-powered motor in a long time or by a high-powered motor in a short time. Units of power are those of work (or energy) per unit time, such as foot-pounds per minute, joules per second (or watts), and ergs per second. Power is expressible also as the product of the force applied to move an object and the speed of the object in the direction of the force. If the magnitude of the force F is measured in pounds and the speed ν in feet per minute, the power equals Fν foot-pounds per minute. In the International System of Units, power is measured in newton metres per second.

Most machines have rotating shafts, and, in terms of the twisting moment, or magnitude of torque (Tτ), on a shaft and the angular speed ω of the shaft, the power is given by Tωτω. Tτ is usually expressed in inch-pounds, ω in radians per second, and power in inch-pounds per second. Another unit of mechanical power is the horsepower (hp), which is equal to 33,000 foot-pounds per minute, or 6,600 inch-pounds per second.